Biancaneve’s bedtime stories series
by Lady Razeli
Summary: Gabby is having a hard time concealing her feelings for Xena, and Xena is frustrated with Gabby's silence. Can Gabby finally admit to her feelings? Warning: strong language.


Biancaneve's Bedtime story series

#1

By

Lady Razeli

Disclaimer: I do not own X:WP. It belongs to MCA Universal.

Author's note: I wrote this short story in three parts for someone special despite the fact I dun like writing this ship *sigh* but here goes...

* * *

Xena and Gabby walked on the road to Cornith they were in no hurry, for once there wasn't any pressing danger and Gabrielle was determined to enjoy it, but more importantly she was determined to make sure Xena enjoyed it as well. She could already see Xena was a bit tense hoping some bandits would jump out at them. She wasn't relaxed at all, which was no way to be on a hot day in the summer with no danger near.

"Xena, will you relax?" Xena glanced at Gabrielle, but said nothing. She did however to Gabrielle's slight annoyance cover up how tense she was. But Gabrielle's annoyance was short lived as her eyes followed the contours of Xena's biceps. They were perfect just like everything else on the warrior princess. Gabrielle bit her lip slightly as her eyes raked down the warrior princess's form to her long legs. Xena's legs made Gabrielle's knees nearly buckle.

"What are you doing?" Xena asked completely oblivious to Gabrielle's thoughts or actual intentions. Gabrielle came back to reality and realized she was very close to Xena, who had stopped with her hand on Xena's upper arm.

"Huh um…what did you say?" Gabrielle asked innocently clearing her throat and stepping away from Xena.

"Really Gabrielle what if I had told you bandits were near, lucky for you and I must say surprisingly lucky after a life time together, I said there's a river nearby would you like to go for a swim." Gabrielle did not need to be asked twice when it came to swimming and bath time. She grinned to herself and licked her lips as she sped around a nice clearing for a camp. By the time Xena joined her, she was already in the water with a great view of Xena as she undressed. Gabrielle didn't even mine her taking her time to get undressed. It always amazed her that Xena even took the time to fold her things half the time; Gabrielle's things were haphazardly thrown on a bush.

"Xena the water is great," Gabrielle commented conversationally as she watched the brass armor come off. Next to go were the armbands after she waved her acknowledgement. Gabrielle knew the exact order, sometimes it was great that Xena was oblivious to her attentions, but other times she wanted her to know so she could just rip it all off herself and run her fingers over Xena's body.

"Oh warrior princess I bet you could turn me into the woman Perdicus never could," Gabrielle whispered as Xena peeled off the brown leather slower than usual it seemed. Gabrielle moaned lightly under her breath.

"Is something wrong?" Xena asked hearing the moan and stopped removing her armor. Gabrielle snapped back immediately Xena should be showing boob, she quickly assessed that a question had been asked. But Xena already saw that it was nothing at least in her eyes and began to remove her armor once more. Gabrielle zoned out again as she treaded water, and bit back another moan when Xena finally exposed herself down to her shift.

"Damn shift," Gabrielle muttered with a pout.

"What was that?" Xena asked folding her leathers.

"Nothing Xena just get in the water already," Gabrielle told her pleasantly.

"Hang on I want to get something on the spit first." Xena left quickly. Gabrielle hit the water and rolled her eyes.

"Damn it warrior princess," Gabrielle mutter and swam around a bit listening for her return, but she knew by now that Xena was absolutely impossible to hear. But she kept more of a visual look out for her warrior princess anyhow. It was twenty minutes before Xena returned to the water's edge. "Finally only took another twenty-five years of Eve's life."

"What's that about Eve?" Xena asked coming to the water's edge.

"I miss her you know, I got use to her being around." Gabrielle turned around as Xena started talking about her and muttered, "Oh yeah I miss Eve all right and all the unnecessary cock blocking. No thanks to her I'm not sitting pretty between your legs by now." Xena kept talking and Gabrielle didn't notice her slip into the water and swim up behind her, she quickly wrapped her arms around Gabrielle and innocently pressed herself up against Gabrielle before tossing her back. Gabrielle let herself sink for a moment. Somehow she knew that the pressing was completely innocent, but she couldn't help but get wetter than she already was.

Xena oblivious to just how horny Gabrielle was when she surfaced splashed her with the cool waters of the river playfully moving closer. Gabrielle knew there was only so much unintentional turn ons she could take from Xena and playing naked in the river on day like today was not helping perfect fucking weather in her opinion.

"Xena no!" Xena smirked and backed off for the moment as she shook out her wet hair and Gabrielle sucked in a breath as Xena found a rock and leaned forward against it facing Gabrielle. Gabrielle found her own rock and did the same letting the cold waters cool her back down.

"You know what?" Xena asked after a few minutes. Gabrielle opened her eyes and noted that Xena was actually relaxed for once.

"We need some nut bread?" Xena looked at her skeptically.

"God no, last time you had nut bread you tried to rape me in my sleep, we're good." Gabrielle blushed a little she had blamed it on the nut bread just to get a kiss or two from Xena without revealing her true feelings, though she still hadn't made any indication to actually disliking Gabrielle as more than a friend. Or at least if she did Gabrielle had completely missed it, and it didn't matter because eventually Xena would love her.

"Yes, of course how could I forget, you're right." Xena nodded.

"Well I was going to say, that today, this weather, is perfect for fucking." Gabrielle choked on air. Never had she heard Xena say the work fuck, maybe she was just acting silly cause she was horny.

"I'm sorry I missed that Xena, what about today?" Gabrielle asked clearly thinking she had been mistaken. Xena smirked from her rock knowing her face was hidden from Gabrielle.

"I said this weather is perfect for fucking, I know you heard me correctly." Xena smirked a little more. "And yes I said fuck."

"Fuck?" Gabrielle repeated getting hot. She wiped her forehead, was she sweating in the middle of a cool river. She swore she heard Xena chuckle.

"Yes fuck." Xena continued on nonchalantly and conversational for once. "Yes, in Amphipolis you always knew who was getting fucked on days like today, so we called it fucking weather."

"Oh God, and um…so what did you do on days like today." Gabrielle splashed some water on her face.

"Gabrielle, it's called fucking weather, what do you think we were doing?"

"Well I…well you of course never did anything with a guy in Amphipolis you told me you were never quite into any of them that much."

"Actually there was this girl."

"This girl?" Gabrielle asked a little bit angry, why hadn't she thought Xena had been with other women? The woman was not a complete virgin anybody could see that.

"Well woman actually," Xena said with a silly grin. Gabrielle stared at Xena in disbelief that she had gotten lost in a memory. Gabrielle glared and dived to the bottom for a moment and picked up a rock. When she came back up Xena was still in her memory so she chucked the rock at her creating a big splash of water before storming out of the water.

"What the hell is her problem?" Xena asked watching her go.

"Damn her," Gabrielle grumbled as she dressed and went over to the fire. She bent down and checked the rabbit that Xena had caught for their lunch as usual it was a good catch. Was there nothing her warrior princess couldn't do? Oh yes that's right think of her the way she wanted her too, instead she was in the river thinking about some other woman. Gabrielle poked the fire hard with a stick.

"First trees and now fire," Xena teased coming up from the river dressed. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing," Gabrielle lied. Xena raised an eyebrow and sat down on the other side of the fire so she was facing Gabrielle.

"No, something is wrong, you don't just storm off when I mention my past, and you know I don't do it often."

"Nothing is wrong," Gabrielle told her biting back the urge to scream out her feelings for Xena. She could feel Xena watching her for a long moment.

"Gabrielle I have known you know for seven years."

"Well actually thirty-two years if you count the twenty-five year gap," Gabrielle told her.

"Water under the bridge, now tell me what's wrong," Xena demanded.

"Xena nothing is wrong."

"You know Gabrielle you've been running that same damn line for thirty-two years now as you calculated, and it's getting old. And you've been acting especially weird lately." Gabrielle looked up at Xena startled. She had thought perhaps she had hidden her jealous ways better. "Strike me if I'm wrong but you've been acting like a jealous girlfriend." Gabrielle merely gulped and looked up at Xena who was now standing and looking down at her. They stared at each other for what felt like hours, but was only a moment. "Yes, exactly what I thought, you know Gabrielle I think we need a bit of time apart. Why don't you catch up to me when you wanna talk?" Xena finally looked up away from Gabrielle breaking the hold her eyes always had on her no matter the situation.

"Xena?" Gabrielle whispered. Xena stopped and looked at her as she stopped grabbing her things.

"Yes?" Xena asked. Gabrielle didn't speak though and Xena shook her head before she was packed and rode off with Argo. Gabrielle sat there on her rock for quite some time stunned at the words that had just passed between them. How could Xena just leave her? How could she just let Xena leave her? Why the hell was she still sitting on this rock? She should have been racing after Xena explaining away her jealous tendencies, and of course never admitting anything. Or did Xena want her to admit it? Gabrielle paused in moving to put out the fire, what had she seen in Xena's eyes. Anger? No it wasn't anger.

"AGH! How could I have been so stupid!" It wasn't anger Xena had looked at her with or spoke to her with, but disappointment. "AGH! I have to get my woman!" Gabrielle quickly packed and was on the road by the time the last rays of sun disappeared over the horizon. It wasn't far to the next town, and she knew Xena would be there already. She hopped onto her horse and was just getting her into a nice canter when dark figures filled the road.

"Stop!" She pulled the reins.

"Whoa boy."

"Look what we have here boys fresh meat, take her!" The leader cried seeing her when she stopped close to him. Gabrielle grabbed her sais and was prepared to fight, but no one charged like she thought. Soon the prick of a dark in the back of her neck surprised her.

"Damn," Gabrielle whispered. Why hadn't she seen or at least heard that coming. Xena would have heard and caught the dart. That was her last thought before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell from her horse into the arms of the waiting leader.

"Come on let's get her back to Aristaeus, he'll want her for sure." The other soldiers nodded and they gathered her horse before disappearing into the forest without another word. Meanwhile in town, Xena waited impatiently for Gabrielle to show.

"No matter how long you wait, he's not coming." The slightly drunk guy in front of Xena burped and sat down with a thud in the chair uninvited. "Oh excuse me, how rude of me." Xena rolled her eyes but nodded her consent to excuse the burp, you didn't meet polite drunks often.

"And what makes you think I'm waiting for someone?"

"Because you've been sitting here since near lunch time and I was in here for lunch. If you weren't waiting you would have left by now."

"Maybe I'm just not ready to go to bed."

"Which would be fine if you had of explored the town during daylight." Xena looked at him.

"You know you're not as dumb as you look, how about another port?"

"Oh no, none for me thanks I'm a light weight and have had enough as it is." Xena nodded. She herself had been nursing a cup of cider for more than a candle mark. "Where are my manners, my name is Aristaeus and you are?"

"Xena," Xena replied as he held out his hand. They shook hands. "So what do you do around here?"

"Me, I'm passing through, I'm a warrior, and you?" Xena nodded.

"Passing through as well, I'm waiting for my friend."

"You know waiting here won't help anything, why should you chase your friend?"

"I don't chase after my friend and I think that might be exactly my problem."

"Ahh letting the friend come to you." Xena nodded slightly.

"You could say that, though fair enough it wasn't as if I got any indication at first that they wanted to be chased after. You know I clearly recall my friend getting married without a thought to me."

"Oh the bastard, how dare he, really if he loved you that marriage would not have happened."

"That's what I thought, water under the bridge I said, maybe they were interested, but not enough so I turned a blind eye to the attentions. You know how some people get, they like to tease and all that, but really they have no intention of taking it any further." All was silent as they both thought about this very fact.

"Bitch," They both said. They looked at one another surprised they had spoken the same thought before laughing. "Hey stay out of my head."

"You were in my head," He told her.

"No you were in mind."

"I said it first," they both said. They chuckled again and just silently agreed to disagree with one another. After that they found it easy to laugh with one another and talk about past relationships. They were both highly surprised at the ease of which they let the other in.

"You know, I've never let anyone in so fast," Xena murmured.

"Yes, I am the same," Aristaeus spoke as they walked in the cool night air. Neither had been ready for bed, but they didn't want to sit in the tavern any longer either. They smiled at one another.

"I can't explain it, but since I've met you there's been something between us." He looked relieved.

"So you've noticed this as well." Xena chuckled.

"Oh yes, I have definitely noticed." Aristaeus chuckled as well.

\ "Well than I won't feel like a fool doing this." Xena almost expected a kiss, but was pleased and surprised to feel him grab her hand. No man had ever done that before, just hold her hand. They had always been so eager to kiss her, as if that were the only way to experience her. Her beauty was a curse, and it would seem that, the curse did not affect Aristaeus in such a way. But looking at him again his features were only that of an Adonis, no woman would in her right mind let him go without a fight at least. With that thought Xena looked around for any women who might be liable to attack in their pursuit to reclaim him.

"What don't tell me you're looking for a past girlfriend," He chuckled. Xena chuckled as well.

"As a matter of fact I am, can never be too careful when you find yourself holding the hand of an Adonis." He grinned.

"And here I thought I would praise your beauty before you could praise mine. You know you glow in the moonlight. You must have been born under her rays." Xena smile widened.

"Yes as a matter of fact I was."

"A las I was born in the sun, it is why I seem always in shadow at night." Xena noted he did indeed seem in shadow compared to her.

"Artemis does not favor you than so much."

"Ah well she favors me in her own way. The shadow helps as a warrior." Xena nodded and weighed the benefits.

"This is true." Xena suddenly yawned.

"Perhaps we should go to bed." Xena nodded as they turned around and went back to the tavern.

"Join me somehow it seems wrong that we should be apart," Xena told him at her door. He nodded his agreement and followed her inside her room. And without any other intentions they slept together in the same bed, Xena barely registered that Gabrielle still hadn't shown yet.


End file.
